Internal-combustion engine with rotary valve



Sepe. 2o, 1927. E T- LARKIN 'E 1,642,734d

INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGNE WITH ROTARY VALVE Filed Feb. 17. 192s Cil Patented sept. 2o, 1927.

UNITED STATE-s .PATENT oFF-ICE.

ELWOOD '.r. LARKIN, OE BUFFALO, NEW VYOEK, ASSIGNOR To `cl-rimLEs AQCEIQUL OE BUEEALO, NEW YORK.

rN'rEENAL-OOMBUSTION ENGINE wrm ROTARY VALVE.

Application nea February i7, 19.26. serial No. I88,818.

rllhis invention relates to internal combustion engines of the kind having vremovable Cylinder heads, and more particularlyto engines ofthis kind having rotary valves.

The objects of this invention are to construct a multi-cylinder engine of this kind 1n which rotary valves are used in connection vwith cylinder heads which are removable 1ndividually; also toV provide an improved arrangement of a cylinder head anda rotary valve ina cylinder member or castingof an internal con'ibustionfengine to facilitate the manufacture and assembling thereof and to improve the cooling -of the. valve; also to provide means of improved construction for holding the cylinder heads and valves in correct `relationto thecylinder member or casting of the engineg-also toimprove' the construction of engines of thiskind in other resepects hereinafter specified.

In the accompanying dawings,

Alfigj1 isa fragmentary, transverse, sectional elevation of the upper portion of an internal combustion engine, showing the removable cylinder head and valve, the section being taken on line 1 1, Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, top plan view thereof, partly in section, on line 2 2, Fig. 8.

Fig. 3 is a fragment-ary, -elevationthereo partly in section, on li-ne 3 3, Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged, fragmentary, sectional elevations thereof on lines 4 4 and 5 5, respectively,.Fig. 2.

The engine to which my invention is api plied may have any desired number of cylinders in which pistons 11 may reciprocate, the cylinders being cooled by jackets y12 .through vwhich water or other cooling liquid may circulate and which may be formed around the cylinders in any usual or suitable manner. The cylinders 10 and water ackets 12 preferably form a part of a cylinder member or castingr which is also provided with an integral upwardly extending'portion formed with cylinder head chambers which are 'of 1-ylindrical bore and preferably formed concentric with the cylinder above the same and of slightly larger diameters than rthe cylinders, thus forming shoulders-14 at the lupper ends of the cylinders and-at the lower ends of cylindrical -walls 15 of the cylinder head chambers. The upper part-of the cylinder member, in the particular construction illustrated, is provided at one side with a pluralfold 19.

ity of inlet passages 16, one being provided sages in thecylindermember terminate in .thecyhnder 4head chambers, and each of these passages Of the cylinder member is divided into two passages-leading to two adjacent cylinders by means-of an upright jacketed portion 2O of theengine cylinder member, which .also formsa part of `the wall of the twoy adjacent head chambers.

The individually removable'cylinder heads which are Yadaptedt-obeI located in the cylin- 'derhead 'chambers of the cylinder member include lanOuter substantially cylindrical wall-22 terminatingat its lower ends in` an outwardly extending radial iange 23, the

'loweredgc of which is` adapted to seat upon a shoulder 14;,a`g'asket 24being preferably inserted betweenthe shoulder ,and the outwardly extending flange `of the cylinder head as Yshowni'n Fig, 5, and afrotary or sleeve valve is positioned yin the space vbetween the cylinder head wall22 and the walls 15 of the head chambers, the 'lower end of the s'leeve bearing on or extending into close proximity to the upper face of the annular flange 23 of the, cylinder head. The flange 23,*inadditio1`i'to forming a tight joint with theshoul'der Maleo serves to center 'the cylinder head in the cylinder head chamber so that the cylinderhead wall 22 will beV truly concentric with the chamber wall 15. Y Each cylinder head is provided with an upwardly extending cavity 27 in the bottom thereof which is substantially conical in form and forms a combustion chamber. This cavity 27 is connected bymeansoftwo passages 28 and 29 respectively with the inlet and exhaust passages 16 and 18 of the cylinder member, through the medium of ports in the rotary or sleeve valve.

In the particular construction shownthe rotary valveis inthe form of a hollow open ended cylinder provided in its cylindrical wall with twoA portsjSO and 31 which are so arranged as tri-establish and 'break communication between the inlet passages 1G and 28 and the exhaust passages 18 and 29, at the proper time. rIhe rotating of these valves may be effected in any suitable or desired manner. In the particular construction shown each of these, valves is providednear its upper portion with an outwardly extending flange 33 on which worm gear or spiral gear teeth 34 are formed, which teeth are adapted to mesh with worms or spiral gea-rs 35 secured on a shaft 36 which is suitably journalled on the upper part of the cylinder member of the engine. The cylinder head chamberis provided with a corresponding portion 37 ot larger bore which adapted to ai:commmlate the 'li-ange 33 and teeth 34 of the valve. Any other means for driving the rotary valves may, of course, be employed, if desired. 1

The arrangement vof the cylinder head and 'valve `in the head chamber of the engine greatly facilitates machining and assembling of this portion of the engine, since the valve 25 telescopes over ythe head, and the valve and head can then together be inserted into the head chamber. The adjacent or engaging cylindrical surfaces of the valve, head and head chamber can easily be machined to produce an accurate fit.

In order to clamp the cylinder head in its head chamber in the cylinder member and at the same time to center the upper portion of the cylinder head relatively to the head chamber and conline the rotary valve in its operative position, a clamping and centering ring 40 is preferably employed, which ring is vmade to fit snugly within the counter bored portion 37 of the'cylinder head chamber, and has a downwardly extending annular shouldered portion or flange 4l which ex* tends into the space between the upper edge of the cylinder head and the head chamber. This flange accurately spaces the upper end of the cylinder head relatively to the head chamber, and in conjunction with the spacing flange 23, ensuresa truly concentric space between the cylinder head and head chamberl in which the rotary valve is located. The flange 41 extends into close proximity to the upper end ofthe rotary valve 25, Yandconfines the same in its operative position. The clamping rings'may be clamped downwardly into their operative position in any suitable or desired manner. In the particular conk struction shown'a plurality of clamping bars 42 are provided, each of which is arranged to engage two adjacent clamping rings 40 and these bars 42 are adapted to cooperate with studs 43 secured on the cylinder member of the engine, for example,vthe bars 42 may have central apertures through'which the studs 43 extend, and nuts 44 Vmay be employed for drawing the clamping bars 42 downwardly aga-inst the clamping vrings 40, which in turn are pressed downwardly against the cylinder heads to force the annular flanges 23 thereof into engagement with the gaskets 24. By means of this construction the studs 43 can be made of rela` tively large size, since each stud acts on two different cylinder heads, and these large studs are muchless apt to be damaged during the shipment orhandling of the engine extending depressions 46 in t-he cylinder heads and which extend into the passages 28V and 29 of the cylinder heads, which passages terminate in the combustion chamber 27.

The cylinder heads of the engine are cooled by means Aof cooling liquid circulated in spaces 48 inl the heads, these circulating spaces being arranged between the walls of t-he combustion chamber and inlet and exhaust passages 28 and 29, an upper wall 49 of each cylinder head, and the cylindrical side walls 22.

The means for circulating cooling liquidv in the cylinder heads is preferably substantially the same as described in my copending i application No. 88,819, and includes a siphon tube 50 of substantially inverted U-shape for each cylinder head. `One of the arms Yofthe inverted U-shapedsiphon` tube 50 is longer than the other, and the longer arm extends downwardly through the water jacketsurrounding the cylinder head chamber at the upper portion of the'cylinder member, and the lower end thereof extends into a supply passage 5l extending lengthwise of the engine. The supply passage in the particular construction shown is formed integral with the cylinder member andv receives the water or other cooling liquid from the usual circulating pump or the like (not shown) through a pipe rIhe shorter arm ofthe siphon tube extends downwardly into the cooling liquid space of a cylinder head into close proximity to the bottom thereof, so that the coldest liquid will be discharged into contact with the lower wall and combustion chamber wall ofthe cylinder head which yare subjected to the greatest heat. The cooling liquid is discharged from each cylinder head into the upper portion of the j acket surrounding the Vcylinder head chamber by any suitable means such for example as a short inverted U-shape pipe 54, one end of which terminates at the upper end of a cylinder head as clearly shown in Fig. 4 and the other end of which terminates in the upper part of thewater space of the cylinder member. Any suitable or desired means for forming kwater tight joints bet-ween the tubes and 54 and the j acketed portions of the cylinder he'ads and cylinder member 'may be employed, such for example as threaded nipples suitably secured to the j aeketed portions of the cylinder heads and cylinder member and cooperating with gland packing nuts 56 of usual construction. The ytube 50 is preferably made of a single piece and extends through the nipples 55 in the cylinder head and cylinder member, but, if

desired, the tube may be made of more than onel piece, the unitary construction being preferable to prevent any air leak from interrupting the siphon action which takes place when the water is dra-ined from the cylinder jackets of the engine since the longer leg of the inverted U-shape tube 50 terminating in the water supply passage 51 will cause water to flow in this tube by the siphon principle and thus withdraw most of the water from the cylinder head to which the siphon tube is connected.

.By means of the constructionr described the several parts of the engine, such as the heads, the rotary valves, and the head chambers in the cylinder member can be very readily machined and assembled. The inner cylindrical face of the Walls l5 ofA the cylinder head chambers can be easily bored to the correct diameter, andthe lValves and the cylinder heads can be machined separately Vso that they can be `easily handled. Vhen the engine is being assembled or taken down, each cylinder head can be removed independently of any other cylinder head, and even in comparatively large engines these cylinder heads can be handled without the use of hoisting apparatus or devices. The machining of the cylinder heads is greatly facilitated since practically only the outer cylindrical surfacesof the cylinder heads and the bottom and top edge portions thereof need to be machined with accuracy. The making of the cylinder heads and individual units also facilitates the casting of the same and makes it possible tomake the cylinder heads of different material from the cylinder member.

The rotary valves in the construction described are thoroughly well protected against the high temperatures of the engine since all parts of these valves with the eX- ception of those closing the inlet and exhaust passages are arranged between the jacketed or cooled walls of the cylinder heads and the cylinder member.

I claim as my invention:

l. An internal combustion engine including a cylinder member having a cylinder and a cylinder head chamber arranged in alinement with the cylinder and of greater diameter to .form a shoulder at the juncture of said cylinder and chamber, a cylinder head removably secured in said chamber and having an outwardly extending flange adapted toseat on saidshoulder to form a tight joint therewith, and a rotary sleeve valvev rotatably arranged about said head and bearing at its lower end on said outwardly extending flange.

2. An internal combustion engine including acylinder member having a cylinder and a cylinder head chamber formed therein, a cylinder head removably secured to said head chamber Vand having an outwardly extending flange engaging said head chamber to centerl said cylinder head therein, a rotary valve varranged about said head above said flange, and a ring detachably secured to the cylinder head and engaging said head chamber for centering the upper end of said head relatively to said head chamber.

3. An internal combustion engine including a kcylinder member having a cylinder and a cylinder head chamber formed therein, a cylinder head removably securedto said head chamber and having an outwardly eX- tending flange engaging said head chamber to center said cylinder head therein to form an annular space between said head and lsaid head chamber, a rotary valve arranged in said annular space, and a member at the upper end ofeach cylinder head and detachable from said head and head chamber and adapted to close said space and to center the upper portion of said head in said head chamber. e

4. An internal combustion engine including a cylinder member having a cylinder and a cylinder head chamber formed therein, a cylinder head removably` secured to said head chamber and having an outwardly extending iiange engaging said head chamber tocenter said cylinder head therein to form an annular space between said head and said' head chamber, a rotary valve arranged in said annular space, a centering ring engaging the upper portion of said cylinder head and entering into said space to close said space and to center the upper portionof said head in said head chamber, and clamping means for securing said centering ring in its operative position and for holding said head in said head chamber.

5 An internal combustion engine including a cylinder member having a cylinder head chamber formed therein, a cylinder head removably arranged in said chamber and having portions thereof spaced from said chamber walls, means for centering the lower end of said cylinder head in said head chamber, a rotary valve arranged in the space between said cylinder head and said head chamber', and a centering member engaging the upper end of said cylinder head and entering into said head chamber, said member having a part entering into the space between said head chamber and the upperpart of said cylinder head to center the upper part of said cylinder head relatively to said chainber, and clamping means for securing said head in said chamber.

G, A multi-cylinder internal combustion engine including a cylinder ineinber having` cylinders and cylinder head chambers 'formed therein7 individual cylinder heads removably secured in each ol said head chan1- bers7 rotary valves arranged between said cylinder heads and head chambers, centering rin engaging saidcylinder heads and head chambers to center the upper portions of said cylinder heads in said head chambers, clamping bars engaging adjacent pairs oil centering rings, and a sing'le clan'iping device i'or securing each clamping bar in a position lo clainp .said centering rings and cylinder heads in their operative positions.

7. in an internal combustion engine including a cylinder ineinber having a cylinder head chamber formed therein, the coin-y bination oit a cylinder head arranged in said head chamber, a` rotary va'lve arranged between said lcylinder head and said head chaniber, spaces in said cylinder head and in said cylinder nieniber surrounding said head chamber for the circulation of cooling liquid, a'supply passage on said cylinder ineinber for supplying cooling liquid, and a siphon tube of substantially invlerted U- shape having a longer part which' extends into said supply passage and receives liquid therefrom and a shorter part which extends into said cylinder head near the bottom of head and said head chamber, spaces in sai-d `cylinder head for the circulation of cooling liquid, a supp'ly passage on said cylinder ineinber through which cooling liquid is supplied to the engine, a Siphon tube `oie. sub

stantially inverted U-shape having a longer ypart which extends into said supply passage and a shorter part which exten s into said cylinder head near the bottoni of the cooling liquid space therein, whereby, when wat-er is withdrawn from lsaid supply passage, the water in the cylinder head will be withdrawn to the supply passage by a siphon action, and conduits connecting'the upper vpart of the liquid space `in said cylinder head with the jacketed part of the cylinder ineniber, whereby cooling liquid is first used in the cylinder head and then in the engine j acliets. c

ELVVGODv T. LARKIN. Y 

